PORTLAND, Ore. — Ankeny Alley in downtown Portland received a facelift this week. Red roses now line the walkway, as business owners encourage Portland residents to return downtown.
This summer, Ankeny Alley owners are holding six events in hopes of drawing people down. The first event, happening this weekend, encourages people to learn the history of Ankeny Alley by visiting stores in the area.
Business owners hope artwork is just the first step to getting more people to come downtown.
"It's just hard to walk through these spaces,” Bae’s Fried Chicken employee Erica Litzner said. “And there's just so much darkness."
This week, Litzner and her son Elliott decided to help change the perception of Ankeny Alley by painting roses.
"It just started to feel like there could be some kind of brightness," Litzner said.
Litzner recognizes artwork won’t fix the problems of downtown Portland. But she said it could help.
"We can't slap a coat of paint on a housing epidemic but we can certainly make it pretty for all of us, even the people who sleep here," Litzner said.
She believes rose artwork can have a larger impact than coloring pathways.
"Offering some kind of beauty can be a first step to feeling something beautiful."
She thinks all Portlanders can agree that it’s worth it to make the places where people shop, work and sleep a little bit brighter.
"I actually just saw somebody walking by here a little bit ago pushing shopping carts and I profiled them as unhoused,” Litzner said. “And they seemed stoked. You know, they live here too."